Star Wars with occasional sarcasm

Heir to the Empire annotation #2: Talon Karrde

In our second early peek at Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire annotations, he shares the origins of Karrde:

In some ways, Karrde is my vision of how Han might have ended up if he hadn’t dropped into the Mos Eisley cantina that afternoon for a quiet drink. Both men have a code of honor, especially toward their friends, and both are willing to be part of a larger group, though Han admittedly dragged …his feet a long time before getting to that place.

I’ve heard this one before, but honestly… I’m not sure I can see Han ever running – however reluctantly – something the size of Karrde’s operation. Thoughts?

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7 thoughts on “Heir to the Empire annotation #2: Talon Karrde”

I agree with you, Dunc – when i first read this, i didn’t see Han as someone who would set up his own large scale operation. He’s more of a “Solo” operator – a single ship, a single friend watching his back, and probably would end up working for someone like Karrde.

I can’t say that I see it from the man who is presented to us in the films, but people (and characters) do evolve over time. And remember that eventually Han ended up using that General’s commission of his to run a fleet dedicated to shutting down Imperial warlords, so as an older man he was more receptive to taking on a command position. Sure, that happened as a consequence of the path he took in life, but who’s to say that he couldn’t have been pushed in a similar direction if he had stayed on the wrong side of the law? So, yeah, I guess I can see Tim’s point, and find the thread of logic in it…though I can’t say that I think Han would have been anywhere near as good at running things as Karrde.

… where BoShek ended up giving a lift to Ben and Luke and the droids — and Obi-wan realizes that this man could also be trained in the ways of the Force. But without Chewbacca, rescuing the princess becomes a little tougher…

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